Dear Readers - If your kids are going to be spending time in front of the computer, they might as well spend (and invest) it wisely, by visiting Web sites where they can pick up financial advice:
- MainXchange (www.mainXchange.-com). Interactive game in which teens invest 100,000 virtual dollars in publicly traded companies. Top portfolios win prizes from featured companies (for example, airline tickets from Continental). You can download the game from the Internet or get it on CD-ROM (send a $3 check for shipping and handling to MainXchange Inc., 2 North Dean St., Englewood, NJ 07631).
- Investing for Kids (http://-hyperion.-advanced.org/-3096). Produced by kids for kids, an excellent primer on the basics of investing that adults will appreciate as well. Users of all ages can test their knowledge with the quizzes and play the ThinkQuest stock game.
- KidsBank.Com (www.kidsbank.com). Designed for elementary-school children and sponsored by Sovereign Bank, this site uses characters called Penny, Dollar Bill, Interest Ray and Checks (the dog) to explain where money comes from, how a bank operates and how interest works.
- Taxi Interactive (www.irs.gov/taxi/). Who would have believed it? Here's a lively site from the IRS that, among other things, shows teens how much they'd earn from various summer jobs (music-store clerk, pizza deliverer) after taxes. There's also a crystal-clear glossary of tax terms and a resource kit for teachers who want to bring taxes into the classroom.
- The Mad Money Room (www.nbc.com/atthemax/money/). Using features such as "Reality Check" and "Should I Buy It?" teens can quiz themselves to see how much they'd have to earn to support their preferred lifestyle, and under what circumstances it makes sense to make a particular purchase.
- Moneyopolis (www.moneyopolis.org). Kids in grades six through eight use math skills to solve real-life problems of earning, spending and saving money.
A number of sites focus on encouraging girls and young women to be financially independent: She's on the Money! (www.girlsinc.org/money/); Independent Means (www.anincomeofherown.com/) and Girls Unlimited (www.girlsunlimited.com/).
You can reach all of these locations through the Kiplinger Web site, (www.kiplinger.com). Click on "Kids and Money" to find links.